NOVEMBER 2017
GEEKY TIMES ISSUE
STRONG ICON 26-28
THE BOY WHO LIVED 4-5
FIGHTING DEPRESSION 35
YEARS OF MAGIC 36-39
Q&A JK ROWLING 22-25
"I was literally as poor as you can get in Britain without being homeless"
GEEKY TIMES / NOV 2017 $40
ORIGINAL PHOTOGRAPH
MARTIN SCHOELLER
THE BOY WHO LIVED
4-5 SUMMARY OF THE BOOKS
6-7 HOGWARTS
8-9
MAIN CHARACTERS
HOUSES
18-21
10-17
JK ROWLING: Q&A
22-25 STRONG ICON
26-28
THEME PARKS
29 ETYMOLOGY OF SPELLS
30-34 FIGHTING DEPRESSION
35 20 YEARS OF MAGIC
36-39
4 GEEKY TIMES/NOVEMBER 2017
History
HARRY POTTER SHAPES AN ENTIRE GENERATION. IT HAS BECOME A HOUSEHOLD NAME AND NEARLY EVERYONE KNOWS ABOUT THE BOY WIZARD AND HIS TWO BEST FRIENDS, RON AND HERMIONE. THE STORIES SPAN SEVEN YEARS, COINCIDING WITH THE SEVEN YEARS A STUDENT SPENDS AT HOGWARTS. SPECIFICALLY, HERE WE'LL SUMMARIZE THE BOOKS IN THE HARRY POTTER SERIES.
2017 NOVEMBER /GEEKY TIMES 5
SUMMARY THE BOOKS sARaH pOUndeR
1991 HARRY POTTER AND THE PHILOSOPHER'S STONE THE FIRST BOOK starts at the beginning of Harry's life. Harry, at 15 months old, was orphaned and left on his Aunt and Uncle's front door. We learn that Harry is a wizard, but his new family is not. Fast forward 10 years and Harry is a small, neglected, and shy 11-year-old who lives in the cupboard under the stairs, at the Dursleys' house (his aunt, uncle, and rotund cousin). Suddenly, letters begin arriving for Harry. Despite the Dursley's best attempts, he learns of Hogwarts, a magical school in the UK, and decides to attend. Harry has many adventures at his new school, meeting friends (Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley) and foes (Draco Malfoy and Professor Severus Snape) alike.
1992 HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS THE SECOND BOOK begins at the Dursley's again. Harry is trapped without being able to contact his friends. Ron, however, soon comes to his rescue in a flying car. Harry travels to Ron's house and meets most of his family, three of his older brothers he knew from Hogwarts, his younger sister, and his father. The two go back to Hogwarts and learn the school is under attack, and his professor is unable to stop it. Nearly single-handedly, Harry fights to save the only home he's ever known.
1993 HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN
Image: YaoiNoYume
6 GEEKY TIMES/NOVEMBER 2017
THE THIRD BOOK introduces an incredible new character; one of my absolute favorites. Professor Remus John Lupin steps in to take over the Defense Against the Dark Arts classes and quickly earns the students' respect. He is extremely capable in his field and kind to the students. The story traces the path of an escaped prisoner from Azkaban (the wizarding prison), who is supposedly hunting Harry down, but in the end, we learn that no one is who they seem to be.
History
1994 HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE
THE FOURTH BOOK begins with Harry's troubling nightmares. Later, he learns that Hogwarts will be host to the Triwizard Tournament, a competition between wizarding schools that could result in a competitor's death. Despite age restrictions (one must be seventeen to enter the tournament, Harry is fourteen) and his own lack of desire to participate, Harry is forced to compete. People are mysterious around every corner and all motives are questioned, even Harry's own. The book ends with a spellbinding surprise, setting the darker stage for the last few books.
1995 HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX THE FIFTH BOOK definitely has a more depressed, melancholic mood. Harry is exiled and ridiculed throughout the school. Very few stand by him, including the clumsy Neville Longbottom, Luna "Loony" Lovegood, Ron, and Hermione. Dumbledore, the headmaster who has always stood by him, will now no longer speak or make eye contact with him. The new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, who is replaced every year, is more than willing to single him out, partially due to her boss leading the smear campaign against Harry. Events in this book bring us hope, such as the formation of the DA (you'll have to read to see!) and the Weasley twins' exit, while others, such as a death at the end, make us realize the true cost of war.
1996 HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE THE SIXTH BOOK details Harry's new life; he grows obsessed with taking down Voldemort and doing anything he can to assist. He also learns to cope with typical teenage hormones because, despite everything that is going on around him, Harry is only sixteen. Now knowing from the fifth book, surrounds himself with his close friends, the ones who remained at his side no matter what. Dumbledore prepares him for the final battle, as he learns Voldemort's past. He becomes accustomed to death, learning of deaths nearly every day. The sixth book shows the world at open war before the end.
1997 HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS THE SEVENTH BOOK and the last, begins with Harry's final days at the Dursleys' home, including their goodbye. Loss begins early in the book and within a week, the Magical Government has fallen and Voldemort's taken over. Harry, Ron, and Hermione are now on the run hunting for Horcruxes (magical items that keep Voldemort alive). Harry faces death multiple times through the events of the book with the final time culminating in a questionable, yet still explosive ending that rocks the Wizarding and Muggle world alike. 2017 NOVEMBER /GEEKY TIMES 7
HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT & WIZARDRY
WIZARDING WORLD: ALSO REFERRED TO AS THE MAGICAL COMMUNITY, IS THE SOCIETY IN WHICH WIZARDS AND WITCHES LIVE AND INTERACT SEPARATE FROM MUGGLES.
UNPLOTTABLE: REFERS TO THE DELIBERATE CONCEALMENT OF A PLACE AROUND THE WORLD.
MUGGLES: NON-MAGICAL PEOPLE, MOST ARE UNAWARE OF THE EXISTENCE OF THE WIZARDING WORLD OR MAGIC.
H
ogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is the British wizarding school, located in the Highlands of Scotland. It takes students from the United Kingdom of Great Britain, Northern Ireland, and Ireland. As the castle was rendered Unplottable, the precise location of the school can never be uncovered. The school looks like an old abandoned castle to Muggles. Most wizarding schools locations are protected in order to prevent their ways of teaching being revealed, as well as protect the students and schools themselves from any harm. Established around the 10th century, Hogwarts is considered to be one of the finest magical institutions in the wizarding world,
History
HALF-BLOOD: HALF-BLOOD WAS THE TERM COMMONLY GIVEN TO WIZARDS AND WITCHES WHO HAD KNOWN MUGGLE, MUGGLE-BORN PARENTS OR GRANDPARENTS.
MUGGLE-BORN: IS THE TERM GIVEN TO A WITCH OR WIZARD WHO IS BORN TO TWO MUGGLE (NON MAGICAL) PARENTS.
BASILISK: GIANT SERPENTS WHICH CAN INSTANTLY KILL ANYONE WHO LOOKS INTO THEIR EYES.
PURE-BLOOD: REFERS TO A FAMILY OR INDIVIDUAL WITHOUT MUGGLE BLOOD.
though other notable schools included Beauxbatons Academy of Magic and the Durmstrang Institute. Children with magical abilities are enrolled at birth, and acceptance is confirmed by owl post at age eleven. However, if the child in question is a Muggle-born, a professor from the school would come and inform the child's parents. The school's motto is Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus, which, translated from Latin, means "Never tickle a sleeping dragon".
EARLY HISTORY
Hogwarts was founded around 990 A.D. by two wizards and two witches: Godric Gryffindor, Helga
Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Salazar Slytherin. They each represented an aspect of personality that they wanted to bring out in new students. Shortly after founding the school, Slytherin had a falling out with the other founders about blood purity, and wanted to admit only pure-blood students, not even half-bloods. He felt that only pure-blooded students deserved to learn magic, but the other three founders all disagreed. Slytherin left the school, but not before secretly building the Chamber of Secrets and foretelling that only his own heir would be able to open it and unleash a murderous basilisk living inside to purge the school of all Muggle-born students. WIKIa
You might belong in GRYFFINDOR, where dwell the BRAVE at HEART. THEIR DARING, NERVE and CHIVALRY set gryffindors apart.
LOCATION
ANIMAL & COLORS
HEAD OF HOUSE
GOLD AND RED
PROFESSOR MINERVA MCGONAGALL TRANSFIGURATION
FOUNDER
HOUSE RELIC
HOUSE GHOST
GODRIC GRYFFINDOR
THE SWORD OF GODRIC GRYFFINDOR
NICHOLAS DE MIMSY-PORPINGTON KNOWN AS "NEARLY HEADLESS NICK"
ASSISTED IN DESTROYING THE HORCRUXES & THE BASILISK WITHIN THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS
Or perhaps in SLYTHERIN you'll make your real friends, those CUNNING folk use ANY MEANS to achieve their ends.
LOCATION
HEAD OF HOUSE
ANIMAL & COLORS
PROFESSOR SEVERUS SNAPE
GREEN AND SILVER
POTIONS MASTER
HOUSE GHOST
HOUSE RELIC
FOUNDER
THE BLOODY BARON
SLYTHERIN'S LOCKET
SALAZAR SLYTHERIN
USED AS A HORCRUX BY LORD VOLDEMORT AND LATER DESTROYED WITH THE SWORD OF GODRIC GRYFFINDOR
Or yet in wise old RAVENCLAW, if you've a READY MIND. Where those of WIT and LEARNING will always find their kind.
LOCATION
ANIMAL & COLORS
HEAD OF HOUSE
BLUE AND BRONZE
PROFESSOR FILIUS FLITWICK CHARMS
FOUNDER
HOUSE RELIC
HOUSE GHOST
ROWENA RAVENCLAW
THE DIADEM OF RAVENCLAW
HELENA RAVENCLAW KNOWN AS "THE GREY LADY"
USED AS A HORCRUX BY LORD VOLDEMORT AND LATER DESTROYED WITH A BASILISK FANG
You might belong in HUFFLEPUFF, where they are JUST and LOYAL. Those patient hufflepuffs are TRUE and unafraid of toil.
LOCATION
HEAD OF HOUSE
ANIMAL & COLORS
PROFESSOR POMONA SPROUT
BLACK AND YELLOW
HERBOLOGY
HOUSE GHOST
HOUSE RELIC
FOUNDER
THE FAT FRIAR
HELGA HUFFLEPUFF'S CUP
HELGA HUFFLEPUFF
USED AS A HORCRUX BY LORD VOLDEMORT AND LATER DESTROYED WITH A BASILISK FANG
Context
THE WIZARDING WORLD IS FILLED WITH MEMORABLE CHARACTERS. SOME, LIKE SEVERUS SNAPE, ARE COMPLEX AND MYSTERIOUS. THEIR STORIES SPAN THE DECADES, THE WHOLE SAGA AND BEYOND. OTHERS, LIKE MUNDUNGUS FLETCHER, MANAGE TO BE INTERESTING AND COMPLICATED EVEN THOUGH THEY ONLY POP IN AND OUT OF THE STORY OCCASIONALLY. THERE ARE WITCHES AND WIZARDS, HAGS AND GIANTS, HOUSE-ELVES AND MUGGLES, WEREWOLVES AND VAMPIRES, GOOD PEOPLE AND BAD. FROM HARRY HIMSELF TO MAGICAL CREATURES LIKE DOBBY OR GROWN UPS LIKE PROFESSOR MCGONAGALL AND LUPIN, THE SERIES IS PACKED WITH AMAZING CHARACTERS, HERE WE DESCRIBE THE MOST IMPORTANT. eMpiRE
18 GEEKY TIMES/NOVEMBER 2017
THE
Context
GOLDEN TRIO THE TRIO, SOMETIMES KNOWN AS THE GOLDEN TRIO, IS A POPULAR NAME FOR THE THREE MAIN CHARACTERS OF THE HARRY POTTER SERIES.
RON WEASLEY
HARRY POTTER
HERMIONE GRANGER
1 MARCH 1980
31 JULY 1980
19 SEPT 1979
● Ronald Bilius "Ron" Weasley was a pure-blood wizard, the sixth and youngest son of Arthur and Molly Weasley (née Prewett). ● Ron and his five older brothers: Bill, Charlie, Percy, Fred and George, as well as his younger sister, Ginny, grew up in The Burrow. ● Ron began attending Hogwarts in 1991, and was Sorted into Gryffindor House, like everyone in his family. ● Ron also became a Gryffindor prefect and a Keeper on the Gryffindor Quidditch team during his fifth year at Hogwarts. After winning the House Cup, he was known as "The King".
● Harry James Potter was a half-blood wizard, the only child of the late James and Lily Potter (née Evans). ● In a vain attempt to circumvent a prophecy that stated that a boy born at the end of July could be able to defeat him, Lord Voldemort tried to murder him when he was a year old. ● Voldemort murdered Harry's parents as they tried to protect him, shortly before attacking Harry. ● The attempt lead to Voldemort's first downfall, marking the end of the First Wizarding War and to Harry henceforth being known as "The Boy Who Lived".
● Hermione Jean Granger was a Muggle-born witch, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Granger, both dentists. ● Hermione was raised as a Muggle until, at age eleven, when she learned that she was a witch and had been accepted into Hogwarts. ● Hermione was subsequently sorted into Gryffindor House in 1991, despite being considered for Ravenclaw. ● She possessed a brilliant academic mind, and proved to be a gifted student in almost every subject. She took classes and rules seriously. ● She was often described as "The Brightest Witch of her Age".
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2017 NOVEMBER /GEEKY TIMES 19
THE
Context
GROWN-UPS THIS THREE CHARACTERS ARE AS IMPORTANT TO THE PLOT AS THE GOLDEN TRIO. THE ANTAGONIST, THE MENTOR AND THE WAR HERO.
LORD VOLDEMORT
ALBUS DUMBLEDORE
SEVERUS SNAPE
31 DECEMBER, 1926 - 2 MAY, 1998
C. SUMMER 1881 – 30 JUNE, 1997
9 JANUARY, 1960 – 2 MAY, 1998
● Tom Marvolo Riddle, later known as Lord Voldemort, was considered to have been the most powerful and dangerous dark wizard of all time. ● The son of late wealthy Muggle Tom Riddle Sr. and witch Merope (née Gaunt), he was raised in a orphanage, which remained his residence through his attendance at Hogwarts. ● Voldemort split his own soul into a total of eight fragments, called Horcruxes. ● He was ripped from his body in 1981, after attempting to murder Harry Potter. ● Voldemort was killed at Hogwarts by his own backfiring curse after all of his Horcruxes were destroyed.
● Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore was the Transfiguration Professor, and later in life, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. ● He was a half-blood wizard, son of Percival and Kendra Dumbledore, and elder brother of Aberforth and Ariana. ● His father died in Azkaban, while his mother and sister were later accidentally killed. ● Dumbledore was considered to be the most powerful wizard of his time. ● He was most famous for his defeat of Gellert Grindelwald, the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's blood, and his work on alchemy with Nicolas Flamel.
● Severus Snape was a half-blood wizard and son of Tobias and Eileen Snape (née Prince). ● During his lifetime, Snape was Potions Master, Defence Against the Dark Arts professor, and Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. ● Snape changed sides and became a member of the Order of the Phoenix and double agent during the Second Wizarding War. ● When he died, it was revealed that his love for Lily Evans (Harry's mom) caused him to redeem himself, joining Dumbledore's cause for her protection (and, after her death, that of her son) from Lord Voldemort.
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20 GEEKY TIMES/NOVEMBER 2017
THE
Context
SILVER QUARTET THE SILVER QUARTET IS A NAME FOR THE FOUR SECONDARY CHARACTERS THAT PLAY AN ESSENTIAL ROLE IN THE HARRY POTTER SERIES.
DRACO MALFOY
NEVILLE LONGBOTTOM
GINNY WEASLEY
LUNA LOVEGOOD
5 JUNE 1980
30 JULY 1980
11 AUGUST, 1981
13 FEB 1981
● Draco Lucius Malfoy was a pure-blood wizard and the only son of Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy (née Black). ● The son of a Death Eater, Draco was raised to believe strongly in the importance of blood purity. ● He attended Hogwarts in 1991 and was sorted into Slytherin House. ● During his years at Hogwarts, he quickly developed a rivalry with Harry Potter. ● He was made a prefect of his house and was a member of the Inquisitorial Squad during his fifth year. ● His father was imprisoned in Azkaban and he became a Death Eater at age sixteen, but was quickly disillusioned with the lifestyle.
● Neville Longbottom was a pure-blood wizard, the only child of aurors Frank and Alice Longbottom. ● He attended Hogwarts in 1991 and was sorted into Gryffindor House. ● Neville was clumsy, forgetful and shy. In his later years, he showed that he possessed great courage. ● His parents were tortured into insanity by Bellatrix Lestrange and three other Death Eaters with the Cruciatus Curse, and he was raised by his grandmother. ● Neville was one of the two boys possibly referred to in the prophecy. However, Voldemort chose to target the Potters, thus marking Harry, and not Neville, as his equal.
● Ginevra Molly "Ginny" Weasley was a pure-blood witch, the youngest of Arthur and Molly Weasley's seven children, and the first female to be born into the Weasley line for generations. ● Ginny was sorted into Gryffindor House in 1992. ● During her first year, she came under the influence of the memory of Tom Riddle's sixteen-year-old self, preserved in a diary, which forced Ginny to re-open the Chamber of Secrets, endangering the lives of many students, including herself. ● She was also an accomplished Quidditch player, playing Seeker and Chaser at different times for the Gryffindor Quidditch team.
● Luna Lovegood was a witch, the only child and daughter of Xenophilius and Pandora Lovegood. ● Her mother accidentally died while experimenting with spells when Luna was nine and she was raised by her father, editor of the magazine The Quibbler. ● Luna attended Hogwarts in 1992 and was sorted into Ravenclaw House. ● Luna was often the subject of ridicule and had difficulty making friends. ● She was an extremely quirky girl with many eccentric beliefs and qualities. Luna was a nonconformist; she lacked self-consciousness and was not afraid to show who she truly was.
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2017 NOVEMBER /GEEKY TIMES 21
Leaders
ROWLING THE J.K. ROWLING LEGEND BEGAN WITH A DELIGHTFUL CHILDREN’S BOOK ABOUT AN ORPHAN BOY WIZARD WITH A LIGHTNING-SHAPED SCAR; A BOY WITH A MAGICAL DESTINY SHARED BY HIS CREATOR. IN THIS RARE INTERVIEW, THE AUTHOR SPEAKS TO OPRAH ABOUT HER DEPRESSION, HER BRIEF FIRST MARRIAGE AND HOW SHE WENT FROM LIVING ON GOVERNMENT BENEFITS TO BECOMING THE FIRST SELF-MADE BILLIONAIRE WRITER.
22 GEEKY TIMES/NOVEMBER 2017
Leaders
INTERVIEW WITH HARRY POTTER'S WRITER
450
millions copies have been sold of the Harry Potter books, placing them as the best-selling series of books in history and have been translated into more than
seventy seven languages
When I finished Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows, I mourned not only for the end of the series, but for you. I cannot imagine what that was like. It was a bereavement. Even though I’d always known it would be seven books, I was in a slight state of shock. What did you do when you finished? Initially I was elated, but then I cried as I’ve only ever done once before, and that was when my mother died. I knew I’d still be writing, but I had to mourn Harry. But you know what happens ever after? I do. I couldn’t stop. I don’t think you can when you’ve been that involved with characters for so long. They’re all in my head still. I mean, I could definitely write an eighth, ninth, 10th and so on... Will you? I’m not going to say I won’t. I don’t think I will, but you never really know, right? Did you ever imagine your life being the way it is now? Never. It overshot the mark so ridiculously that I was so unprepared for it. It took everyone around me totally by surprise. And this was children’s book that I had been told repeatedly wasn’t very commercial.
Was there a part of you that knew? I do remember one day, writing the first novel, I had a moment where it was like another voice was speaking to me, and it said, “The difficult thing is going to be to get published. If it’s published, it will be huge.” And that is exactly what it was... You know, I was not the world’s most secure person. In fact, I’d say I was someone with not much self-belief, and yet in this one thing in my life, I believed. I felt, I can tell a story. Is it true that the story just entered your head when you were on a train? That is true. I wrote compulsively, but I’d never really found the right thing. And then I was on a train – I was 25 – and it came: boy doesn’t know he’s a wizard, goes to wizarding school, bang, bang, bang! And that was it. I don’t think I’d ever felt so excited. In the Potter books and the movies, the consistent theme in the end is: Love wins. It does win. When someone dies, love isn’t turned off like a tap. It is an amazingly resilient part of us. How has being the first billionaire author affected your perception of yourself? I was a single mother, and it really was hand to mouth at one point. I was literally as poor as you can get in Britain without 2017 NOVEMBER /GEEKY TIMES 23
PHOTOGRAPH:
SPENCER MURPHY
24 GEEKY TIMES/NOVEMBER 2017
being homeless. If you’ve ever been there, you will never take for granted that you don’t need to worry. Are you in a place now where you can accept that you will always be rich? No. Are you? Kind of. Getting there. Unless I’m a complete fool. But that’s it. I’ve never been foolish with money, so why do I worry? But I do. I don’t want to take things as a given. What did your first marriage teach you about yourself? You haven’t spoken very much about it, only that it was short-lived. 13 months and a day? Yes. I think the most important thing to say about that is I would do it all again to have my daughter Jessica, who is incredible. So, you know, I don’t regret a thing. I think that it taught me I had a strong survival instinct, because when I knew that it was time to go, I left. Did it help you to know more of who you are? Eventually, but I can’t pretend that I walked straight out of that experience feeling enlightened in any way. I felt quite shell-shocked. I had a tiny baby. And then I walked straight into poverty and depression. But in a strange way, all of that was enormously illuminating. And seven years later I met the right man. Were you ready? Yes. The strange thing is, a week before I met Neil, I remember telling a good friend, “I would need to be with someone intelligent and with his own career, because I value that.” I thought these were really basic things: integrity, kindness and a strong sense of who he was. And then, I found him. During all of this, I understand you are still estranged from your father? I am. That’s never an easy thing in the public eye, but there you are. Do you think you’ll ever make peace? No, I don’t. It’s such a huge thing to be estranged from a parent that obviously, there would have to be very big reasons for that. Any you want to share? It wasn’t a good relationship, from my point of view, for a very long time, but I had a need to please. And then there came a point at which I just had to say, “I can’t do this anymore.” Do you regret that he can’t be a part of this success? Well, the estrangement happened post-success, so he was there for a while. I regret much more that my mother never saw any of it. That’s a bit of a killer. I can honestly say I know 100 percent she would have adored it.
Did you started writing before she passed? Yes, but I never told her about it. Six months before she died, I started writing, and I never shared it with her. You regret that? Hugely. But the odd thing is, and this is life, isn’t it? The books wouldn’t be what they are if she hadn’t died. I mean, her death is on virtually every other page of the Harry Potter books. At least half of Harry’s journey is a journey to deal with death in its many forms. The books are what they are today, because I loved her and she died. You went through a period of depression, and I had read that the dementors in Harry’s world – the dark creatures who feed off human happiness, causing despair – came from that depression. Is that true? For sure. Clinical depression is a terrible place to be. Between 25 and 28 was a dark time. It’s that absence of feeling and even the hope that you can get better. It’s difficult to describe to someone who’s never been there, because it’s not sadness. Sadness is not a bad thing, to cry and to feel. Depression is that really hollowed out feeling. And it was because of my daughter that I got help. I love the speech you delivered to the Harvard Alumni Association in 2008. You talked about failure. Yes. Failure is so important. It doesn’t get spoken about enough. We speak about success all the time. But it’s the ability to use failure that often leads to the greatest achievement. I’ve often met people who are terrified, in a straitjacket of their own making, because they don’t want to try for fear of failing. It wasn’t fun at all. But it was liberating. Rock bottom became the foundation on which I rebuilt my life. And will you be writing more? Oh, definitely. I literally can’t stop. For my own mental health, I need to write. So, that brings me to the final question. Is there a part of you that feels, I’ve got to top Harry? No. And I really mean that. It was amazing. It was also insane at times, and there are parts of that insanity I’ll be quite glad to leave behind. But I’m grateful I had it on so many different levels. I love the people who read the books. I dedicated the last book to the people dearest to my heart, and the seventh part of that dedication was the reader who had stuck with Harry right the way through. Yeah. Which is exactly how I feel about all the people who stuck with me. I feel the same way. A girl came up to me the other day in the street. She must have been in her early twenties, and she said, “You are my childhood.” Wasn’t that the nicest thing anyone’s ever said? 2017 NOVEMBER /GEEKY TIMES 25
Leaders
Photograph Kerry Hallihan
26 GEEKY TIMES/NOVEMBER 2017
Leaders
PRINCESS LEIA. KATNISS. BLACK WIDOW. MICHONNE. RIPLEY. WONDER WOMAN. IN THE PANTHEON OF AMAZING HEROINES STANDS ANOTHER ONE, WITH A BRILLIANT MIND, A DEVASTATING WAND, AND A HEAD FULL OF BUSHY HAIR: HERMIONE GRANGER. Anthony Breznican
E
mma Watson, the 26-yearold actress, reflected on the impact of her breakthrough role as J.K. Rowling’s brave, kindhearted witch from the Harry Potter movies. In the interview, she says she hopes Hermione continues to be as inspiring to young girls and women as Carrie Fisher’s galactic warrior or any of those other wondrous women. “Hermione was that perfect example of turning on its head this initial prejudice that she gets,” Watson says. “She finds a way to wield her intelligence and she becomes really the leader in this group of two other boys and that’s kind of the role that she assumes.” Harry Potter and Ron Weasley, much like Luke Skywalker or Han Solo, would have been adrift without
their no-nonsense heroines. “Harry is much more intuitive. Ron is just along for the ride. Hermione is the one with the plan,” Watson says. “She’s in control.” The message of Hermione to young girls is simple, but important to say nonetheless: You belong. And you are nobody’s sidekick. “I think somehow, that gave other women permission to like, feel that they were allowed to take up space,” Watson says. As one of the ambassadors for the United Nation’s HeForShe outreach movement, Watson has been active in the effort to urge more men to support the feminist movement, so she is especially glad that in the story Ron and Harry always treated her character with respect (even if she did endured a lot of deplorable treatment from
many others). “What is so fundamentally beautiful about Hermione is her loyalty to that group of friends,” Watson says. “She’s really the glue that keeps that trio together. It’s fundamental, and the boys knew it, and they really treat her as if they know that.” She also hopes that, like many of those other heroines, Hermione is someone boys can look up to, as well. “If I asked a young boy what superhero they looked up to, I feel a lot fewer would say a female one than in reverse, which is a shame because I feel like we need to live in a culture that values, respects, looks up to and idolizes women as much as men,” Watson says. “I think that’s starting to slowly change, but it actually is something that does actively need to be addressed. We're all just heroes.”
2017 NOVEMBER /GEEKY TIMES 27
Photograph Kerry Hallihan
HERMIONE IS THE ONE WITH THE PLAN, SHE'S IN CONTROL. 28 GEEKY TIMES/NOVEMBER 2017
THEME PARKS
JAPAN HOGSMEADE
• •
Opened: July 15, 2014 Location: Osaka, Japan – Universal Studios Japan • Projected Cost: $500 million Main Attractions:
1. Harry Potter & the Forbidden Journey
2. 3. 4. 5.
Flight of the Hippogriff Ollivanders Wand Shop Wand Studies Wand Magic
FLORIDA HOGSMEADE
• • •
Opened: June 18, 2010 Location: Orlando, Florida – Universal Studios Islands of Adventure Projected Cost: $235 – $265 million
DIAGON ALLEY
• •
Opened: July 8, 2014 Location: Orlando, Florida – Universal Studios Florida Main Attractions: 1. The Dragon Challenge 2. Flight of the Hippogriff 3. Hogwarts Express 4. Harry Potter & the Forbidden Journey 5. Harry Potter & the Escape from Gringotts 6. Olivanders Wand Shop 7. Wand Magic
CALIFORNIA HOGSMEADE
• •
Opened: April 7, 2016 Location: Universal City, California – Universal Studios Hollywood • Projected Cost: $500 million Main Attractions:
1. Harry Potter & the Forbidden Journey
2. 3. 4.
Flight of the Hippogriff Ollivanders Wand Shop Wand Magic
2017 NOVEMBER /GEEKY TIMES 29
Origins
EVERY SPELL HAS A STORY TO TELL pOTTerMorE
HARRY POTTER IS A WORLD OF STRANGE AND MAGICAL LANGUAGE, FILLED WITH WORDS THAT SOUND ALIEN AND NEW, BUT IN FACT HAVE THEIR ROOTS IN THE REAL-WORLD. SPELLS ARE NO EXCEPTION, WITH THE ORIGINS OF MANY INCANTATIONS HARKING BACK TO LATIN TERMS AND PHRASES; SOME SPELLS TRANSLATE PRETTY DIRECTLY, WHILE OTHERS HAVE BEEN CAREFULLY CRAFTED AND ASSEMBLED FROM FRAGMENTS OF OTHER LANGUAGES. IT’S A FASCINATING EXAMPLE OF HOW LANGUAGE CHANGES AND EVOLVES. HERE'S FIVE OF OUR FAVOURITE STORIES BEHIND SOME OF THE WIZARDING WORLD’S MOST FAMOUS SPELLS.
30 GEEKY TIMES/NOVEMBER 2017
Origins
2017 NOVEMBER /GEEKY TIMES 31
Origins
1
ALSO KNOWN AS THE FULL-BODY BIND, THIS SPELL PARALYSES THE VICTIM.
2
pOTTerMorE
The Body-Binding spell is heavily influenced by Latin, as you probably might have guessed from its very Latin-sounding name. However, there are dashes of Ancient Greek in this incantation too. First, we have 'Petra', which is derived from 'petros' which means 'rock' in Greek. 'Ficus' is a Latin suffix which denotes 'making' or 'doing' something. Then there's ‘Totalus’ that's a loose reworking of 'totalis', which, once again, is Latin, meaning 'total' or 'entire'. So roughly speaking, ‘Petrificus Totalus’ translates to 'Make rock totally’, which we're sure victims of the curse, such as Neville Longbottom, totally understand all too well.
32 GEEKY TIMES/NOVEMBER 2017
REMOVING AN OBJECT FROM AN ENEMY'S GRASP.
pOTTerMorE
‘Expel’ harks back to 1300s Middle English, where two Latin terms were combined to create it. 'Ex' means 'out' and 'pellere' means 'to drive', which finally formed the word ‘expel’. Its definition in basic terms means to 'drive out'. 'Armus', as you may suspect already, is indeed Latin for a similar sounding part of the body: the arm, or specifically the shoulder joint. In time, the term 'arm' took on combat meaning (such as, to 'arm' yourself with a wand) with the Latin 'arma', meaning weapon. Piecing all the syllables back together, we have a rough translation of the phrase 'drive out weapon', which is precisely what Expelliarmus does.
Origins
3
4 SISTER SPELLS LUMOS & NOX GIVE LIGHT AND TAKE IT AWAY.
pOTTerMorE
Lumos could well come from the 19th century Latin word ‘lumen’, which is literally 'light'. Adding the Latin suffix 'os' at the end, means to 'have something’: to have light, in this instance. Then we have Nox, which is Latin for 'night', but actually is also rooted in Greek mythology. 'Nyx', closely related to 'Nox', which is the name for the Greek goddess of night, described as a feared, shadowy figure who was known as a powerful force that intimidated the mighty Zeus.
A CHARM THAT CAN LEVITATE THINGS.
pOTTerMorE
This is a basic levitation charm. The first word is a blend of the English ‘wing’ with a creative adaptation of the Latin comparative of arduus, meaning ‘steep.’ The second word also requires a stretch of linguistic imagination, seeing as it is an adaptation of the Latin 'levo', meaning ‘I lift’. There has been some disagreement as to the pronunciation of the spell.
2017 NOVEMBER /GEEKY TIMES 33
Origins
5
EXPECTO PATRONUM PRODUCES A SILVERY WHITE GUARDIAN, WHICH TAKES THE FORM OF AN ANIMAL AND DEFENDS YOU FROM DEMENTORS.
pOTTerMorE
'Expecto Patronum', the spell that conjures up Harry’s stag Patronus (silvery animal), roughly translates into 'I expect (or 'await') a guardian' in Latin, which is apt. The Patronus itself, has an even more interesting history. In Ancient Rome, the word 'patronus' meant protector too, but with very different connotations. A patronus in Ancient Rome was someone of a high class who had a 'patronage' relationship with a client, who would usually be less rich, or lower class. In turn, the word ’patronage’ most likely came from the term 'Pater', which means 'father' in Latin. In whatever time, in whatever form, the word 'patronus' always relates to protection.
34 GEEKY TIMES/NOVEMBER 2017
Origins
FIGHTING
DEPRESSION
NUMBING THE PAIN FOR A WHILE WILL ONLY MAKE IT WORSE WHEN YOU FINALLY FEEL IT aLbUs dumBLEdOrE
dR JaniNA ScaRlET
MANY OF US CAN RELATE TO A DEEP SENSE OF LOSS, HAVING LOST SOMEONE OR SOMETHING THAT MEANT A LOT TO US. THAT IS ALSO THE STORY OF HARRY POTTER.
H
arry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, the third book of the series, introduces us to the "Dementors", awful creatures that feast on human emotions and consume their souls. The Dementors are said to suck out all our happy memories, causing depression, hopelessness, and emotional devastation. The stronger emotional baggage one has, the more likely the Dementors are to sense them. It is therefore not surprising that the Dementors have such a strong effect on Harry, who has experienced more trauma in his childhood than most people do in a lifetime. When the Dementors are near him, Harry is able to relive the specific and exact moment of his mother being murdered over and over again. This is the only memory he has of his mother’s voice. The Dementors not only retraumatize Harry, they disable him. The first few times he faces them, he loses consciousness, unable to fight them off. As strange as this reaction may seem to some, it serves as a great metaphor for the effects of Major Depression Disorder. Did you ever feel so overwhelmed by depression that you could not move? Did you ever feel that the world around you is too dark and hopeless? Did you ever think that nothing will ever get better? The truth is,
25%
of people in the US may suffer from a Major Depressive Episode at some point and
many of us have. J.K. Rowling purposely described the Dementors this way, as a kind of demented tormentor, that forces us to experience the most excruciating emotional pain. Rowling is no stranger to depression, having struggled with it herself. And, it was not until Harry learned the Patronus Charm, one that requires him to mindfully concentrate on a happy memory from his past, that he was able to really defeat the Dementors.
MAJOR DEPRESSION
One of the reasons why people develop or maintain a depressive state is because they are either regretting the past or are living in the future. For example, someone who is depressed might believe that they will never get better, causing them to feel hopeless, not want to get out of bed, or participate in social activities. The danger there is that our brain reacts to these imagined situations as if they’re actually happening in real time, and it’s almost like mental time travel. If we imagine that things will continue to be gloomy in the future our brain interprets it as if it is happening and acts accordingly. Similarly, if we are regretting the past, either what we did or what we’ve lost, this too, can contribute to depression. Anoth-
350
million
people worldwide suffer from depression.
er behavior that can negatively contribute to depression has to do with our desire to control or get rid of it by engaging in activities that are meant to avoid or distract us from depression. While avoidance can temporarily reduce the painful emotions that accompany depression, it ultimately makes the depression worse. Often times we might be too afraid to fail and will not even try at something that means everything. When an opportunity pressents itself, we might be too afraid of having been found out as a major fraud, one who does not know anything at all. We might cower and take no chances, feeding our depression monster. As J.K Rowling once said: “It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all – in which case, you fail by default.” It seems that the best way to manage depression is by not avoiding the painful sensations and instead by following our hearts. In fact, numerous research studies have shown that when we face the day, no matter how difficult it might be, we might heal. The most important thing is to remember to live your life according to your values. Trying even after we have failed keeps hope alive and when hope is alive, so are our dreams. Women are more likely to be diagnosed with depression than men. The World Health
2017 NOVEMBER /GEEKY TIMES 35
Impact
36 GEEKY TIMES/NOVEMBER 2017
HARRY POTTER TURNED 20. NOT THE BOY WIZARD HIMSELF - HE IS 36, BY OUR CALCULATIONS, BUT THE SERIES OF CHILDREN’S BOOKS DREAMED UP BY J K ROWLING, THE FIRST OF WHICH WAS PUBLISHED ON JUNE 26, 1997. IN THE SUBSEQUENT TWO DECADES, A SPELL WAS CAST OVER SWATHES OF THE WORLD’S READERS, YOUNG AND OLD ALIKE. rOsA silvErmAn
2017 NOVEMBER /GEEKY TIMES 37
20 YEARS
Impact
SA
M
Ar
Dl
Ey
p h OTo : Th E h E rA lD
OPINIONS OF THE
p
hO
a.n. wilson
ian rankin
(writer)
(novelist)
OURS WAS THE FIRST GENERATION IN YEARS WHO DID NOT HAVE TO PERSUADE OUR CHILDREN TO READ. J.K ROWLING DID THAT FOR US.
THE SERIES SPEAKS ACROSS GENERATIONS AND CULTURES. HARRY EXISTS IN A UNIVERSE WE CAN ALL VISIT, YOUNG AND OLD.
To
:
38 GEEKY TIMES/NOVEMBER 2017
OF MAGIC
Impact
HARRY POTTER ANNIVERSARY
ph
o: OT
Th u A rD i A E G
N
p h OT o: a N
D rE W cR
O
W
lE
y
barry cunningham
james daunt
(publisher of the first book)
(founder of daunt books)
IT TAUGHT US FAMILIES CAN ENJOY STORIES TOGETHER, THAT THERE'S A REAL PURPOSE TO STANDING UP TO EVIL AND THAT WE HAVE OUR OWN MAGIC.
THANKS TO HARRY, INDEPENDENT BOOKSELLERS WERE ENERGISED AND BOOKSHOPS SPREAD TO JUST ABOUT EVERY CORNER OF THE WORLD.
2017 NOVEMBER /GEEKY TIMES 39
J.K ROWLING
AFTER ALL THIS TIME?
CHRISTMAS IN THE
WIZARDING WORLD OF HARRY
POTTER ORLANDO, FLORIDA www.universalorlando.com
Warner Bros.